Mirana nodded. She said nothing, merely waited. Would Tora ask her to leave again?
“Sira has decided she will take Hafter. He is a good man. He will treat her well. He also looks a bit like Rorik and I suspect that is another reason she will have him.”
“I see,” Mirana said.
“They will wed soon. Sira will leave with him to the mainland.”
Mirana was silent.
“I thought you should know.”
“Thank you.”
“Rorik will bathe with you on the morrow. I told him I would see to it, but he insists. He says only he knows how hot you like the bathing water and how cold you like the rinsing water.”
She couldn’t hold back the words. “But I thought you wanted Sira to wed Rorik.”
“Rorik said he had no wish to wed her. That he would never wed her. It is done.”
Tora left then, no more words between them.
The next day Rorik did indeed take her to the bathing hut. She was still very weak. Indeed his gentleness made her feel even more helpless, something she hated. He washed every bit of her, his large hands slick with soap, gliding over her back, her buttocks. He even had her balance herself with her hands on his shoulders whilst he washed her feet. He was matter-of-fact, saying nothing even as he held her against him with one hand, his other hand going between her thighs to bathe her there. She wished by the end of it that he would yell at her so she could yell back at him. Instead, he merely rinsed her off, doused her with a bucket of icy water, then wrapped her up warmly and carried her back to the sleeping chamber.
He combed her hair then left her.
He returned within five minutes, striding like a warrior into battle, frowning ferociously. Anger burned bright in his eyes. His jaw was working. Muscles corded in his throat. He looked ready to kill. Mirana brightened.
“It must be your doing,” he said.
“And just what is my doing?” Ah, her voice rose, vibrating in the still room. It felt good. His kindness was irritating. She was bored with her own company and tired of his continued goodwill. Now, this was something to bite into. No longer was she a helpless child.
“Hafter just told me he didn’t want to wed Sira.”
“But why?” she asked, just staring at him, her joy at his ire momentarily forgotten.
“He just said he didn’t wish it, nothing more.”
“Surely this is strange, Rorik.”
He had the look of a man forced to swallow bitter dregs, a man who didn’t like it one bit. He yelled at her, full strength, “Damn you, Mirana, you know what he wants! He wants Entti, curse both your heads! I’m not blind or stupid. Hafter is as clear as the stream that flows shallow on the island. Aye, you’ve planned and plotted this. You’re a meddlesome wench and won’t leave things alone. Aye, and Entti is in this as well. It’s all a woman’s plot. That’s why she’s refused him and beaten him and kicked him. I won’t have it, Mirana.”
She grinned up at him, a taunting grin, full of mockery. She felt marvelous. She felt strength flow through her. She watched him rise to the bait. He actually shook his fist at her.
“You listen to me, woman. You will tell Entti that she’s to take him into her. She’s to let him sate himself on her body. Then he will be free of her and her damned wiles. Then he’ll whistle and straighten his trousers and leave her without a backward look. Then everything will go as I have planned. He will wed Sira and we will all be free of her, and I do want to be free of her, do you understand me? I want that damned violent woman out of here!”
She continued to grin and keep quiet. She drummed her fingers on the blanket, waiting, ever grinning.
There was a strange chomping sound. She believed it was Rorik grinding his teeth.
“Mirana, I won’t have it!”
She chose her words with fond disregard for peace. “Ah, I was just remembering how you told me that you would protect Entti’s honor, how you would keep her safe so that I would not have to worry about her. Your vow did not last long, Rorik. Like other men, you make promises and scatter them to any willing female ears, then you break them just as easily, when it suits you.”
“This is different and I know you see the differentness of it. You are merely being stubborn; you are merely enjoying yourself at my cost. You are enraging me, I see it clearly now. But I will tell you, Mirana, and you will not argue with me more, this is naught but a problem to be solved and the solution is simple and straightforward and Entti will do as she’s told.”
Mirana listened to him with growing joy. She was filled with such energy, nearly bursting with it, and she wanted to run and dance. She threw off the woolen blanket and swung her legs over the side of the box bed.
“Wait! What are you doing? Get back into bed, I won’t have you ill again.”